Biography
Rockabilly performer "Groovey" Joe Poovey entered the world in Dallas on May 10, 1941. Displaying early promise, he issued his first single, "Santa's Little Helper," on the California-based Rural Rhythm label at age ten and soon fronted his band the Hillbilly Boys as a headliner on the weekly "Big D" Jamboree, the Saturday-night radio showcase aired by station KRLD. Following a 1955 opening slot for Elvis Presley, he traded his cowboy hat for a pompadour and redirected his sound from honky tonk toward rockabilly. Now billed as Jumping Joe Poovey, one of several nicknames acquired over time, he partnered with producer Jim Shell to compose and cut 1957's "Move Around" for the Dixie imprint. The following year brought his signature recording, "Ten Little Fingers," a high-energy countrified variant on "Johnny B. Goode" whose original pressing drew scant attention yet later became a prized artifact among rockabilly collectors. Further singles appeared on Azalea with 1960's "The Secret Me" and on Sims with 1963's "I'm Barely Hangin' on to Me," none of which achieved commercial traction, though his material found interpreters in George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, and Wynn Stewart. Poovey launched a radio career in 1962 at McKinney, Texas, station KMAE before moving to KPCN in Grand Prairie. Under the pseudonym Johnny Dallas he released the 1966 Little Darlin' single "Heart Full of Love," which ironically became his most successful outing, yet follow-up attempts stalled and he stepped away from live performance by the close of the decade. Sussex, a British reissue label, revived "Ten Little Fingers" in 1980, finally drawing notice from European rockabilly enthusiasts; Poovey subsequently toured the U.K. and recorded several new sides abroad, among them a 1980 Misty Mountain EP and the 1984 President single "You Are My Sunshine." Returning to Dallas, he served as transportation supervisor for local television productions including Dallas and Walker, Texas Ranger. Studio work remained infrequent thereafter, limited to the 1990 release "From the Jungle to the Zoo" and the 1997 Final Vinyl track "Deep Ellum Rock." Poovey passed away in his sleep on October 6, 1998, shortly before the appearance of his first career-spanning collection, Greatest Grooves.